A few questions on "Renting" - Non-DVC member newbie

[angey77]

Hey all.
One day I will be a DVC member (hopefully), but until then, I'm lurking around trying to find a two-bedroom villa at any resort December 5-11, 2004.
I'm not ready to rent yet, because I have many unanswered questions. If you guys can help me, I would GREATLY appreciate it.

1. What are my actual chances of finding a villa that week? If I don't actually put out a "points wanted" post until May, do you think I have a chance?
2. Can I rent points from various members to accumulate enough for my stay or do they all have to come from one person?
3. Is the going rate always around $10 per point?

Please tell me all you can. I have the simplicities down pat, but have no clue about actually getting it together.
And if anyone is reading this and has points for Saratoga Springs I can use in December, can you send them my way in May? Make my wish come true!

Thank you so much!

 

[Dancind]

Angie, your chances of getting a 2br for your dates are pretty good if you can book now. You are within the 11 month window for home resort reservations, but by May you will be within the 7 month window and possibly out of luck. Early December is a low point season, and a very popular time for DVC members to travel. You might be able to get a 2 br at OKW in May, since it is the largest resort, but the others might involve a waiting list. Not sure about SSR, but I would think it would be popular since it is new. Diana

 

[angey77]

Thank you for your input Diana.

One more question for all you DVCers I forgot:
Are the Disboards the best place to find a villa and points to rent? (I know, blasphemy!) Are there travel agency-type places that take care of it too? Just want to cover all grounds on finding something.

 

[spiceycat]

the dis boards is basically the best place to find points - yes - but there are others -send me an email for them.

 

[niks81]

1. What are my actual chances of finding a villa that week?

December is a pretty popular time at Disney World but especially for DVC. You should probably act pretty quickly to be sure that you get the dates/resort/room size that you really want.

If I don't actually put out a "points wanted" post until May, do you think I have a chance?
Maybe, but if it were me I sure wouldn't wait around to find out. May would be a critical time because that is when the seven month window opens up...meaning all vacation club members can book at that time for any resort. Right now, your advantage is that members can only book for their home resorts.


2. Can I rent points from various members to accumulate enough for my stay or do they all have to come from one person?

You can do it however you want to. It is easier to rent all the points from one person for obvious reasons but if you find a member that you feel comfortable renting from and they don't have enough you could always rent the remaining from someone else and link the reservations together. I have done that before, and its not hard at all....but for obvious reasons it is easier to use one member.


3. Is the going rate always around $10 per point?
This depends....I usually say that is the average going rate. However, you will see some members trying to get rid of points and selling them pretty low. Other times, it could be higher if the time of year you are looking for is a high season. For example, if you are looking to go over Christmas or Easter, I know a few members that charge $11-$15 per point due to the popularity of that time. As a renter, even at $12 per point during high season you are still getting a killer deal....much less than paying through Disney!


Don't worry, renting is not hard at all. When I rented for the first time a few years ago I was a paranoid, question asking, worrywart renter...and I would bet that I drove that member crazy Its normal to be a little leery if you haven't rented before....but all in all its usually a pretty smooth flowing process. I haven't seen any problems on this board and I have been on here for three years.

Good luck!

 

[RobDoc]

You can rent reservations for individual days from different members, but it would be best to rent your entire stay from one member.

The price is entirely negotiable. Nothing is set as the price.

As for other sources for DVC resort rentals, you can also reserve directly from Disney. That may be a good option if you wish to wait until late spring for your reservation. A rental thru Disney will likely be more costly, but will also include daily housekeeping service and more liberal cancellation/refund policy should your plans change a later date. (DVC point reservations don't have daily housekeeping without additional charge and most members will have stricted cancellation policy than that offered by Disney.)

Enjoy!

 

[angey77]

Wow! Why didn't I come to this board sooner. You DVCers sure are helpful! Now I just have to talk the boyfriend into booking sooner than later.
Keep em coming!

 

[niks81]

Are the Disboards the best place to find a villa and points to rent? (I know, blasphemy!) Are there travel agency-type places that take care of it too? Just want to cover all grounds on finding something.


In my opinion, yes. You can't "rent" points through a travel agency, they simply book through Disney (which is no different than you doing that yourself..) as a cash reservation and as Doc said, it is more costly but it includes housekeeping. There are a few other minor boards around the web but nothing like the DIS. Trust me when I say, stick with this one

 

[HookdonWDW]

Originally posted by angey77
2. Can I rent points from various members to accumulate enough for my stay or do they all have to come from one person?
\

In order to properly answer this question, the first thing you need to know is that you can't really rent points. Points have no value to those who are not owners in DVC. You have to be a member in order to book a reservation with points. So what you're really "renting" is a room reservation. The cost of that room is usually determined by the number of points it cost a member to make a reservation for a given night. Members can transfer points into their accounts from other accounts, and that allows them more flexibility in renting points from numerous people, and then combining them for a reservation. I know that this might sound nit-picky, but it's one of those little things that helps to explain how the system works...

So, back to your question: You CAN rent nights from as many different members as you need to, in order to make your reservation come through.

The problem with this is that each one of these reservations is a seperate reservation, from a seperate account. And, just like CRO will tell you that they will "try, but can't guarantee" that multiple reservations (usually happens when people are trying to take advantage of codes or changes in seasons) will continue on in the same room, MS will give you the same answer. The upshot of this is that if you use 4 members to book your reservation, although MS will try to keep you in one room, it's NOT GUARANTEED, and there is a chance that you will have to move 4 times during your trip. Since check-out is 11, and check-in is at 4, that means you could potentially have no room available for 5 hours on 4 different days during your stay.

IMO, you'd be much better off renting from one person, or at the most, two. If I wasn't a member, and couldn't get what I needed from one (maybe two) person, I'd look at the options through CRO. JMHO - YMMV.

HTH! Good luck!

 

[niks81]

I would agree with Diana too about SSR...Since it is new it will probably be very popular this December

 

[HookdonWDW]

Actually, it may be slightly easier to get a room at SSR, since they will be opening new buildings as they are completed and the contracts begin to sell. I know that BCVs had more availability in their first year. Reservations have gotten more difficult to get (but not unreasonable) since BCVs has sold out. I imagine that the same thing happened at the rest of the resorts as they moved from the selling to sold out phase.

 

[niks81]

Good point I didn't think of that, but you are right. I stayed at BCV right after it opened and now that I think of it, it was pretty easy to get in.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by angey77
...(snip)....1. What are my actual chances of finding a villa that week? If I don't actually put out a "points wanted" post until May, do you think I have a chance?....(snip)......

While I do agree with the others that renting before the 7 month window opens is your best chance, I think you need to prepare a back up plan (other than renting DVC points).

Since the time you plan to visit is so popular with members, it is very likely that there will not be any availability when the member first calls to make the reservation for you.

That means you will need to find a member who is willing to use the waitlist on your behalf. He/She would have to be willing to "tie up" his/her points hoping that the waitlist will work and that you will not bail on the idea. That's risky - especialy if the member wants/needs the money fairly soon.

Not many members are willing to tie up their points like that when there are so many other renters who want reservations for times when availability is not a problem.

Good luck!

 

[angey77]

You guys just don't understand how happy I am that I finally stepped up and asked these questions! I even found out from one of you great DVCers that I'm better off with two studios, which I see it true. We really did not need the full kitchen and the studios seem a perfect fit!
I might have three nights at SRR now, thanks to posting this thread. Now I've created a monster. My bf wants me to look soon on getting studios at Boardwalk for the second half of the trip...lol. One step at a time I say. I think he's scared to go back to a regular resort room. Can you say "trying to hit him up to join DVC"?
THANK YOU ALL!

 

[angey77]

One more question, and this is coming from my boyfriend:
Is it possible to get "burned" after the reservation is made with DVC? He has this growing fear that we will pay for our rental and show up and not have a room, or have someone else in it already.

 

[niks81]

Ok, to be entirely honest....yes it is possible to get burned....but not likely--meaning it could be done but the chances are slim. We probably would have heard of something like that on here and I have never seen anything on a scammed rental.

To put you at ease....you should get a contract or letter of intent from the member you are renting from. Get the confirmation number and confirm the reservation through DVC yourself. Those are the main things you can do.

One thing to note: A DVC member off of these boards would risk their reputation on here just to scam you...probably not worth it! Being able to rent points on here is a nice privelege

Hope that helps

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by angey77
Is it possible to get "burned" after the reservation is made with DVC?

niks81 is correct--it is POSSIBLE to get burned. Rentals are one-on-one transactions between the DVC owner and the renter. DVC will do NOTHING to help you if there is a problem with the transaction. The DVC points remain the property of the owner and he/she is well within their rights under the DVC program to modify or cancel reservations at will.

That said, there are probably hundreds of DVC members who have rented points at some time or another. In nearly two years of following this forum, I've only seen one report of someone being ripped-off on a rental.

Here is some quick advice:

1. Ask for references and CHECK THEM OUT. Talk to (or at least email) people who have rented from this person before and confirm the status of the transaction.

2. Speak to the DVC member on the phone at some point early in the transaction. There are a lot of details to go over. Certainly you could do it all via email, but actually having a conversation on the phone will get you closer to that comfort level.

3. Get everything in writing before any money changes hands.

4. Every rental transaction may have different terms (when money is paid, cancellation provisions, etc.) If something is proposed that you do not agree with, walk away. There are pleanty of others looking to rent points.

5. Most importantly, if something sounds too good to be true, it just may be. The one example I recall of someone getting ripped-off was a tranaction in which the points were being rented well below the common $10 per point figure. While people may choose to rent at rates under $10, it is most often done on short notice where people need to get rid of points before the end of a Use Year. If you are planning a trip months ahead of time, you should just plan on paying $10 per point and be wary of anyone offering you something lower.

Good luck.

 

[disneyberry]

angey77, regarding the "is it possible to get burned" question, why don't you take a look at this thread:

Help me convince DF that Renting pts is safe!!!!!

HTH! good luck.